


Careless Talk

by JohnAmendAll



Category: Doctor Who (1963)
Genre: 500 prompts, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-29
Updated: 2013-03-29
Packaged: 2017-12-06 21:22:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/740301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JohnAmendAll/pseuds/JohnAmendAll
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tegan's mouth has got her into trouble again. Or was it the Doctor's fault?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Careless Talk

**Author's Note:**

> Part of a '500 Prompts' meme. Prompt 498, from [Liadt](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Liadt/pseuds/Liadt): "Like I need permission to be heard - Tegan, Six"

For a moment, it seemed that Tegan had run out of things to say. Then she reverted to her familiar theme. "This is all your fault." 

"I've told you already," the Doctor said. "Endless recriminations won't get us anywhere. Although I have to point out that you must bear some share of the blame for this. If you hadn't called the Earl a 'bogan'..." 

"...Then we'd still be in the stocks covered in rotten vegetables and filth," Tegan countered. "It was going to happen the moment you spoke to the Earl before he spoke to you." 

"Since we got here through the careless use of language, I think a little precision would not go amiss, Tegan." 

"OK. We'd still be in the _pillory_. Happy?" 

"And I was acting strictly according to protocol. In any reasonable book of the peerage a Lord of Time would outrank a backwater Earl." 

"You still shouldn't have treated him like an idiot. Even if he was." 

"I was addressing the Earl in my most diplomatic manner." 

"Then I don't want to see what you're like when you're trying to be— mmph!" Tegan shook her head, and spat out bits of the half-rotten plum that had hit her in the mouth. "How long is this going to go on?" 

"Only until sunset. And it could be worse." 

"You mean there could be more of them?" After the initial pelting, most of the people who'd been throwing things seemed to have got bored and wandered off. By now, the sporadic bombardment was coming mainly from a group of children, who either had nothing better to do, or had decided they should make the most of this chance to throw mud and overripe produce at two adults without fear of retribution. 

"I meant there are worse things they could have thrown than fruit and vegetables." Something unidentifiable splattered against the Doctor's temple. "See what I mean? If that had been a rock you might be looking at a completely different me." 

"Which could only be an improvement." Tegan shifted uncomfortably, her shoes squelching in the accumulated organic debris. "We must stink to high heaven. I can't wait to get out of here and into a hot bath." 

"I'm afraid that won't be possible until we've dealt with those Drahvins," the Doctor said. He shook his head to dislodge a cabbage leaf. "They've still got the TARDIS, haven't they?" 

"So we've got to sort them out looking and smelling like we've just rolled in a compost heap." Tegan sighed. "I almost hope they get that Earl. After all that stuff he said about a woman's proper place, it'd just serve him right." 

"He could have been a valuable ally. But I fear he'd never trust us now." 

"Thanks to you and your big mouth." 

"The words 'pot' and 'kettle' spring to mind, Tegan." 

"All right, then. If you've got such self-control, you try lasting five minutes without talking." 

"If you attempt the same impossible feat, by all means." 

"Right, then. First person to open their mouth loses, and the winner gets the big bathroom to themself. Deal?" 

"Deal." The Doctor ostentatiously closed his mouth. 

Tegan fell into a sullen silence, and winced as another rotten egg shattered across her back. Objectively, matters had reached such a point that one more egg was neither here nor there, but that didn't mean she had to like it. By now her clothes were definite write-offs: she couldn't imagine that after the pelting she'd undergone, her jacket or skirt would ever be white again. 

A thought struck her, and she suddenly burst out laughing. 

"Aha! The victory goes to me, I think!" the Doctor proclaimed. 

"I didn't speak," Tegan protested. "You did." 

"You said 'whoever opens their mouth first,' young lady." 

"But I didn't mean... I know, I know. Precision in language again." 

"Exactly. Might I ask what you found so amusing?" 

"You'll never be able to wear that coat again." Tegan managed to drag up a triumphant smile from somewhere within her. "Or those trousers. So we can get you a decent outfit for a change. I think blue's the colour for you." 

"You underestimate me, Tegan. I have one of these outfits for every day of the week. If you had tetrachromatic vision you might have noticed the subtle variations in colour." 

"So much for that idea." Tegan's brief flash of amusement faded. She looked at the children bombarding them, who showed no signs of weariness, and then noted that the sun was, obstinately, still well above the horizon. "Next time you ask me if I want to take the scenic route, I'm definitely going to say no."


End file.
